Plantation Prepares For Power Substation

NEWS

PLANTATION — The City Council has given tentative approval for a Florida Power & Light Co. substation near Broward Boulevard and Hiatus Road.

The electric company promised plenty of landscaping, seven types of trees and two types of shrubs, to buffer homes and roads near the 31/2-acre site.

The substation is where high voltages are broken down and then carried on smaller lines through the neighborhoods, said Robert Oldham, external affairs manager for the utility.

FPL officials said there are about 75 substations in Broward County, and the new station is needed to serve the power needs in the area.

Without needed substations, power outages can occur and repairs can take longer, said Ralph Edmondson, who helps seek city approvals for substations.

Linda Holt, president of the nearby Valmoral Homeowners Association, said she would prefer the substation be put somewhere else, but was pleased that the power company agreed to improve landscaping on their common boundary. She did not attend Wednesday's council meeting.

Valmoral has nine townhouses east of the FP site. Other housing projects are also planned for areas east and north of the FP property.

The council will hold another public hearing on the site at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday at City Hall, 400 NW 73rd Ave.

Holt said she also is concerned that the substations may have adverse health effects on those living nearby.

People are exposed to electric and magnetic fields where there is electricity, including such things as hair dryers and televisions. Researchers are trying to determine if there are any adverse health effects from the fields, according to a booklet handled out by FP officials at the meeting.

Oldham said substations are often located in residential neighborhoods, but are landscaped so that they are not easily noticed.

"We do this planning long in advance and now is the time to build the station out there," Oldham said.